Thanks for all the great reviews. :D Gotta put up more. I'm on a roll. ^^ And now I can't stop. I guess that's a good thing.

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Chapter 12

His head throbbed. His arm ached. No it didn't ache. It screamed at him. Raged against him. Telling him something was very wrong. He had to wake up. But he couldn't. His body felt achy and slow. But he could here voices around him. They were crystal clear. And he didn't like who he was hearing.

"When will they wake up?"

"Don't know."

"You think soon?"

Silence.

"Probably."

"And then a little fun."

Laughter bounced around the room.

Mikey tried to wake up. Tried to recall his memories. At first there was nothing. But they slowly started to come back. The fight at the lair. Keith leading that fight. Splinter unconscious underneath the Foot mech. One of the Foot soldiers landing a bad cut on his arm. Falling and breaking that arm. Then nothing. What happened to Donny? Where were they? Where were Raph and Rai? Was Leo ok? Was his brother alive? Was he himself even truly alive? Was he hearing voices of Foot soldiers or was it some sort of trick and he was really dead?

The laughter from the ninjas stopped.

Wherever room they were in fell silent.

Footsteps entered the area. Soft at first, then slightly louder.

Heavier footsteps could be heard following the first set, and stopping somewhere near by.

"Are they awake yet?" Shredder's voice demanded.

"No."

Shredder growled. "And where is Leonardo?"

Silence.

"He is dead master," the cold voice of the lead Elite guard.

Mikey had only heard that voice once and it still gave him the chills. He could feel himself starting to wake even more. His mind raced as he focused on what that Elite had just said. His brother was dead? Leo was gone? But... but... how? They couldn't have. Not Leo. Not his big brother.

"WHAT?!?" Shredder yelled.

Silence.

Something crashed against a wall.

"I told you I wanted him alive!" Shredder ranted.

"Yes... but there was an accident," the Elite spoke up. "It could not be avoided."

"What happened?" Shredder asked in a cold low voice.

Silence.

"Answer me!"

"He fell off one of the buildings," the Elite's voice, now small and wavering. "A large chimney fell on him."

"Falling bricks at that distance does not kill someone!"

"But he was in bad shape already. Unfortunately he didn't survive the impact."

Silence.

Then another crash against a wall.

Mikey shivered slightly, his lip quivering. Hearing this gruesome account of his brother's death. He couldn't believe it. A tear snaked its way down his cheek.

Heavy foot falls retreated from the room.

The room seemed to exhale.

"Not as bad as I thought," a different elite spoke up.

"No. But just as hard," the first one said.

More footsteps left, leaving in the room in silence.

Mikey shook softly, from silent sobs and the pain in his arm. He could feel the split, but it was still bound behind him with his other hand. As far as he could tell there were no other ninjas in the room. He opened blurry eyes and spotted Don and Splinter next to him. Their chests rose and fell. They were still alive. But how much longer would they all stay that way? Had Raph and Rai been caught? Or were they still out there, trying to find him, Donny, and sensei? He clung to that small hope and slipped back into darkness.

---

Casey had barely knocked on April's door when the door swung open and Raph pulled him inside, shutting the door quickly. He took in the serious faces around him and blinked away the rest of the fog of sleep. He had made record time over here. What ever it was that was going on had better be good. He was still tired. And looking at the couch, he guessed Leo was too. "What's with Leo?"

"He's just out for a bit," Rai said. "Should wake up anytime now."

Leo murmured softly.

"Case have a seat," Raph pointed at a chair.

Casey immediately sat, grateful to be sitting. "Ok, so what's up?"

"Foot activity," Raph growled, pacing the room. "They've got Don, Mikey, and Sensei. Keith works for the foot and- "

"Wait hold up," Casey sat up straighter, holding one hand up for a moment. "Keith's with the Foot now?"

"He always has been," Rai said.

"Just decided to reveal it tonight," Raph continued. "But he left a note for us to meet him in Central Park if we wanted to get the others back. We all know that's not going to go over well. So we're going to stage a little diversion. We'll all go to the park, but soon after we meet Keith, Rai will slip away and he and April will head to wherever the Foot have the others after Keith spills the beans."

"And us?" Casey asked, starting to get where this was going.

"We'll keep Keith busy. Take him out if we have to."

"Sounds good," Rai nodded. "Though we're only going to have one chance at this."

"So we'll just have to do it right the first time," April spoke up.

Raph stopped pacing. "Exactly. You all ready for this?"

"Oh yeah." Casey nodded, fully awake now and ready for a little fun.

Rai nodded. "I'm ready."

"Me too," April agreed.

"And Leo?" Casey asked looking at the blue turtle.

Raph stared at Leo. "He'll have to stay here. He's in no shape to come with us."

"Good luck with telling him that," Casey said grimly.

Raph sighed. "We'll deal with that if he wakes up before we leave. It's 3:25. We have to be there in eighteen minutes. We'll leave in eight. That should give us time to go get the battle shell. April, I want you to park and wait a couple of blocks away from the park. By the time Rai joins you, he should know where to find the others."

"Alright," April agreed. "Just be careful on your end."

Raph nodded and began pacing again.

Casey's knee started bouncing up and down in anticipation as he watched Raph pace. He was ready. He hoped.